Government called upon to reform tax system to aid small businesses

Sue O’Neill was speaking at the SFA’s annual lunch in Dublin, which was attended by about 400 members

The Government needs to urgently implement “real reform” within the tax system to ensure competitiveness and end discrimination against the self-employed and entrepreneurs, the head of the Small Firms Association has said.

Sue O’Neill, chairwoman of the SFA, said taxation remains one of the most powerful tools available to the State as it urged the Government to do more to support small business.

“The opportunity to address areas of our tax policy that hinder our ability to compete with our nearest neighbours in particular, were missed in Budget 2019 and instead of ensuring that no additional costs were imposed on small business, we see the reinstatement of the 13 per cent vat in sectors that reinvented themselves and significantly contributed to our recovering economy,” she said.

‘Important pillars’

“One of the most important pillars of a national small business strategy is a comprehensive tax policy. As a country we need to urgently implement real reform within our tax system to ensure sustainable competitiveness for small business and finally end tax discrimination against the self-employed and entrepreneurs,” Ms O’Neill added.

Ms O’Neill was speaking at the SFA’s annual lunch in Dublin, which was attended by about 400 members.

Warning about the dangers Brexit poses for small firms, Ms O’Neill also spoke of a softening of confidence among members with a recent study showing that the number of companies who feel the business environment is improving has declined.